An extraordinary lawyer

An Extraordinary Attorney is a South Korean drama that premiered in August 2022 on Netflix. Each episode has an average duration of one hour. The first season has 16 episodes. The drama also managed to achieve the feat of being in the Top 10 on Netflix.

The story revolves around a lawyer named Woo Young-woo (played by Park Eun-bin) who has Asperger’s syndrome – a condition on the autism spectrum. The lawyer does not excel in social skills, but when it comes to legal knowledge, she puts on a show.

Even regarding her lack of ability to deal with clients, she manages to stand out by being very observant and remembering many aspects of the law. Woo Young-woo has an IQ of 164 and has photographic memory; she studied at Seoul National University with great merit. However, after graduating, the young lawyer was unemployed for six months because many companies refused to hire a lawyer with the syndrome.

Like a turnstile, mug, frock coat, comic, and bald

Whenever introducing herself, lawyer Woo Young-woo says that her name spelled backward is the same as turnstile, mug, frock coat, comic, and bald. She also has routines like counting to five before entering a place, knocking three times on the door, eating the same things every day… the well-structured routine is part of the daily life of the autistic.

The 27-year-old lawyer has to solve, along with other colleagues, different cases in each episode. What stands out in the drama are the different cases that appear in each chapter and the protagonist’s maturation as she steps out of the bubble she lives in and begins to understand more about human feelings. Young Woo has hyperfocus (intense concentration on a single subject) on whales, and in a way, this knowledge always helps her solve her cases. Each of her ideas is accompanied by a glimpse of her whales.

Besides the challenge of learning to communicate better, she has to deal with a mix of feelings that until then were unknown to the young lawyer. Yes, for those who love a romance, there is a very cute couple, and I swear you will root for them throughout each evolution! She has a romantic pairing with a coworker, Lee Jun-ho (Kang Tae-oh).

Another drama present in the narrative is the whereabouts of Woo Young-woo’s mother, who initially was said to have died during childbirth, but actually simply abandoned the girl along with her father, Woo Gwang-ho (Jeon Bae-soon). Her mother is a brilliant lawyer named Tae Soo-mi (Jin Kyeong), and they meet while working on the same case together – one in defense and the other in prosecution. But neither knows what the other represents to her. Well, I think I’ve given too many spoilers here. But I guarantee that a lot happens in this discovery of motherhood.

Something that is also quite interesting is the relationship between the lawyer and her father. She begins to become less dependent on him to mature. She also proves to herself and others that autism is not an obstacle to being a good professional.

Season 2 is confirmed

By 2024, the continuation of “An Extraordinary Attorney” will be available. The K-drama is produced by ENA and Astory and has gained popularity in South Korea and other countries that stream on Netflix. The series is not a Netflix original; it only contributed to making it available, which favored the drama’s renewal.

The series became the 7th most-watched in the history of South Korea. On Netflix, the series has already surpassed 300 million hours watched. Lee Sang-baek, CEO of Astory, confirmed the return of the series to NME. In an interview with Astory, it was stated that the second season will take a little while. The expectation is that filming will begin in mid-2023, with the release of the 2nd season expected between January and March 2024.

The reason for the delay is that most of the actors have commitments to other productions already scheduled, especially the protagonist Park Eun-bin. Although the news of the renewal has delighted fans, the character of the autistic lawyer expressed her concerns on social media about the matter. She fears that a second season might “damage” the story, as she stated on her Instagram.

7 Curiosities about An Extraordinary Attorney

1 – Park Eun-bin is one of the most famous actresses in South Korea

Due to her popularity, the protagonist has been part of several other dramas. So, if you like this type of series, you must have seen her somewhere. Some were Do You Like Brahms? and The King’s Affection.

2 – Eun-bin refused the role several times

The protagonist of An Extraordinary Attorney refused several times to take on the role of Woo Young-woo because she believed it would be challenging to portray this character. However, from the beginning, the producers wanted her to be the character of the autistic lawyer. Due to the delay in acceptance, the drama was delayed by a year.

3 – Woo Young-woo exists

The main character is based on the life of Temple Grandin. She is an American scientist, psychologist, and animal scientist who was diagnosed with autism in adulthood. She appeared on Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The scholar inspired a 2010 film that bears her name. She is a Ph.D. professor at the University of Illinois.

4 – The drama will have an American version

In July 2022, it was announced that a U.S. network is already planning an American version of the series. However, no details were provided regarding the participating actors or even a premiere date.

5 – The drama became a comic book

On July 27, 2022, the webtoon version of An Extraordinary Attorney was released. The goal is to initially have 60 chapters, but there may be changes with the announcement of the second season. The chapters are available in Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and English.

6 – The series made the ENA network known

When it comes to major South Korean productions, the most common networks are KBS or SBS. But now it was different… the popularity of the series in the country made Koreans turn their attention to the ENA network, which has existed for less than a year.

7 – The K-drama received a mural

An Extraordinary Attorney had exposure on a huge mural from June 25 to July 24, 2022. The idea came from two Korean companies, one in communications called KT and the digital platform Y.

Have you watched this drama? Tell me what you thought!